Ideas, Plans and much more

April is the start of a new financial year. It is also the month of Gudi Padwa / Ugadi which many of us observe as the New Year. In this month of New Year, we come to a fresh start with some fresh ideas from our friends who have breathed much fresher air than us. Varde kaka-kaki joined us at our last meet and were delightfully our hosts for this meet (and may be a few more as well). Not to bring out the age difference, but with an age variance of over 4 decades, a meet happens with positive discussions, is in itself an highlight worth noting.

Over a dozen GSBs gathered for this meet, which was more of a carry forward of our discussion from last meet along with some new ideas. Everyone had already become comfortable and much at home before we entered into the discussion; however for a formal gathering, we had a quick round of introductions and entered into the discussions. Various ideas and thoughts came forward and were channelized into positive plans for action. Sharing all the discussions in detail would be too lengthy for page, so here is a gist of what was noted:

1. Maha GSB aims to act as the bridge between GSB groups and the GSB by creating a network bond, thereby strengthening and working towards betterment of the society. This will help in perpetuating the origin and cultural uniqueness to the future generations.
2. One meet per month, preferably on a fixed day (eg: second Saturday of every month) was proposed along with the suggestion of developing an event calendar. It would help planning, execution and promotion. (as this discussion happened in Pune, we are planning a roll-out in Pune. Mumbai may soon follow)
3. Monthly meets were proposed to have a two-fold agenda. The first being an activity ranging from treks to summer camps or outings to talks from eminent personalities; followed by discussions and talks regarding further plans and actions. Thus, the meets would have involvement as well as bonding.
4. It was also proposed and accepted that meets need happen at various places across Pune (and Mumbai), so that participation from all areas can happen. Further as group builds, we can have local networks as well.
5. Seniors have always been a guiding lamp for us. Under their able guidance, need to inspire the upcoming generation into this network. That will help grow and sustain the network and our culture. 
6. All present were quite pleased with the interactions and the overall experience that it was unanimously suggested that we should share our experience with our GSB contacts and encourage them to attend a meet.

With so much of food for thought, we need some good food for our taste buds (some say that's a GSB trait). And it was answered with some lusciosuly soft dhoklas and sipping hot tea, thanks again to our wonderful hosts. With this we concluded the meet, agreeing to look forward for more fun packed meets ahead. And then we spent an hour talking about other things. While the meet concluded, there is a team of planning and execution, putting together ideas for upcoming months.

- based on inputs from Pooja Vengurlekar

If you have any ideas or if you feel you are good at execution, we look forward to your participation. Or if you are better at enjoying events, we still have something for you. In either case, do join us for our next meet. To know more and to participate, email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (9820992403). You can also join us on facebook to get regular updates of our events.

The regrouping (Mumbai version)

Friends share a magnetic bond. Whatever happens, they keep coming together. That is much the same with us at Maha GSB. Professional life and running around had delayed out regular meets. Not that we are less busy now, but that need to meet had taken priority now. So the regrouping meet was announced and as the saying goes ‘Good things and times continues’ and taste develops with maturity. Sunday, April 3 was the awaited day at Vivianna Mall, Thane at 11 AM.

It had been quite some time we all had met, since our last PUMBAI 2015. Hence, everyone was looking forward to the date. Usual questions about the venue, time was flying around. The answers were not that difficult, and anyway with friends venue doesn't matter as we have a grand time wherever and whenever we go.

The meet started without much of the delay at the Vivianna mall food court. At morning 11 AM, there wasn't any crowd, and we had ample gather. The meet started with Priti Tikhe (Kandivali), Archana Gaitonde (Andheri), Prasad Gaitonde (Andheri) and Akshay Keny (Dadar). A few moments later Rekha Jagmohan Rao (Thane), Pravin Kamat (Thane) and Shailaja Pai (Thane) accompanied with her daughter Soumya Pai.

The agenda of Maha GSB has always remained the same: to meet, talk and discuss and have a wonderful time (of course, accompanied by good food) This time we discussed aim and motive of our group; on how we could expand the platform to get more participation. We also discussed the events to be planned to build our network, the database of our group to be updated and any other suggestions. Introductions weren't much needed this time, the only new face being Rekha Rao.

In the discussion, suggestions were raised on re-creating interest in the group with events like Sports meets. It was also suggested that meets can also help to create job opportunities, develop Business as well as matrimonial proposals. Pravin Kamat shared keen information and updates about visiting Shantikunj, Panvel more often. Rekha Rao suggested about business meets, wherein friends come together and give business to each other, so as to flourish in their own ways. Rao being a Manager in a well know bank also stated about their bank expansion through branches and in turn creating job opportunities. To bring youth brigade together Archana Gaitonde suggested to include indoor and outdoor games. As Prasad Gaitonde had tied his marriage knot because of Maha GSB, he suggested that our group should bring forward marriage proposals for likely couples. Priti suggested that we should also meet our families so that our families also benefit from the Maha GSB network.

After much of food for thought, it was time to feed our taste buds. Sumptuous dishes like Mc Burger, Coke Float, Kheema Pav, Tangdi Kabab, Reshmi Kebab, KFC chicken nuggets and Chicken Biryani and Sweet dishes like Chocochip brownie, Moog Dal Halwa joined us at the meet. While we were busy feasting, amidst her busy schedule Shweta Prabhu joined in and discussed her schedule and her availability for upcoming meets. As we were almost closing for the day, the three musketeers: Sanket Kamat, Anup Hasabnis and Sanyukta Pantangoakar joined in. With loads of images, discussions and food, this meet was a grand success. By the time we concluded, there was a buzz about when we would again.

- reported by Prasad Gaitonde

Reading this blog, you definitely would have had some ideas on how we can build the network, or what activities can we do together. We are looking forward to those ideas. So do join in for our next meet. To know more and to participate, email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (9820992403). You can also join us on facebook to get regular updates of our events.

PUMBAI 2015

PUMBAI. To most, this word may make no sense; few others could feel it is something related to Pune and Mumbai together; for us, it is an experience that triggers a series of wonderful memories. As some of you would have guessed, Pumbai is our annual get-together where Pune and Mumbai friends meet and celebrate a weekend together. Last year, Varsoli beach, Alibag was blessed with our fun; this year, it is Saguna Baug, Neral. While Pumbai is just a weekend, it starts quite earlier than that. Planning and organizing is just a small part of the preparations, it is the excitement of meeting the gang and the anxiety of masti that we would have, drives each of us to counting days for this grand get-together.

Pumbai started on Saturday evening. As few of us were unknown to each other, we spent a few minutes on "Hi" and "Hello". And then, as usual, it didn't take much time to groove in. Before we knew, we were chatting as childhood friends meeting after quite a long time.Chatting continued post dinner and past midnight. Yet we woke-up to a fresh Sunday morning, pepped up to have more fun. Some of us had a river bath, while the rest were happy with heavenly showers (some preferred the shade of umbrellas).

Being International Yoga Sunday, we were treated to a Yoga session followed by a magnificent malakhamb display. Then was the round around the pond in a non-polluting 7-seater (pedal boat). This ride provided a view of a unique fish race which put up a spectacular view. Then we had a fishy experience. Trying to bait the fish, we ended up feeding them. Hence we had to settle for chicken for lunch. Post lunch, most had to leave. Those who stayed back were enthralled with the snake show. Along with a splendid display of venomous cobra, the session was a lot informative as well. All these activities can still be enjoyed at the resort, but the experience with this "gang" cannot be replicated.

When amazing friends get together at a beautiful location in an awesome climate, it results in a deadly concoction, the hangover of which lasts long, very long and the memories makes us nostalgic, every time we hear "PUMBAI".

The blog is an attempt to share an experience that cannot be expressed in words. So are you happy reading or do you wish to experience the magic? If you are interested and want to know more, do get in touch with us. You can email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (+91-9820992403).

Family, Food and Fun

It has been quite sometime since there has been any activity on this blog. Though there is nothing posted, there is far more that we have done an being busy in all that, we somewhere missed reaching out to you. So let's start from where we left and all that we did in the past few months to what we are looking forward to.

 

The last activity that was posted here was about the Guru Poornima programme that we had hosted in Mumbai and Pune. There was a good response to the event and it reached across multiple cities, thanks to Saraswat Mitra. It only meant that we would grow and the expectations upon us would start increasing. Building on that, we visited Lokmangal Foundation - a day care for kids of maids. It was a nice experience sharing time with little kids. It was impressive to see how the volunteer teachers used to care and educate these kids on manners and culture. The kids too responded with equal respect. We also visited our friends at Shantikunj Sevasharam - our senior citizen home at Panvel. They were glad to have us visit them. This time, we did not have much activities with them. Our friendship has so much evolved that it was just a pleasure being with them, talking to them and having a jolly good time.

 

We also had our regular coffee meets, which evolved into lunch meets to home-cooked food meets and now we are planning for the annual grand meet - our Pumbai meet. In this whole journey, our family has always been supportive of our activities, be it cultural, social or purely fun related. As a gesture of gratitude to this backbone of Maha GSB and for them to get the feel of the experience that we enjoy, we had the family meet. We invited our parents and relatives for evening gupshup and served them with some home-cooked delicacies (we can't miss that out, can we?)

When we started, we were sceptical of the outcome. Would it be just a hi-hello meet or would they interact further? Will they enjoy the company or will they feel left out? Lot many questions and no answers to any. We started with a brief intro of what we have been doing over the past 9 years since the start of this concept and how we have evolved. Thanking them for the support they have provided us till date, we put the ball in their court seeking their inputs. From there on, they started discussing and sharing their views (which we will work on implementing over the coming meets) and it went on more discussions and gupshups. By the next hour, we started feeling that they had arranged the meet and we had accompanied them. We had planned to wind-up by 7 pm as the Natya Gaurav awards were to be screened. That was before starting the meet, then the chatting started and went on as though long lost friends were meeting. By the time we came to a close, there was already a request floating for a potluck lunch with dalitoy, fish fry, kokum kadi and much more of GSB delicacies.

 

Already thinking of dalitoy and fish fry? That meet will happen soon. For now, we are working towards Pumbai 2015, the annual get-together of Pune and Mumbai teams. So do you wish to just read the next blog, or be a part of the fun as well? If you are interested and want to know more, do get in touch with us. You can email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (+91-9820992403).

Guru Gyaan on Guru Poornima

Guru-tattva or the essence of a Guru in an individual's life is very beautifully explained in our culture. To understand the essence and importance of a Guru, we organized a program on the auspicious day of Guru Poornima. The programs were organized in Mumbai as well as in Pune.

Mumbai Program

The program in Mumbai was hosted by Abhishek Parab, while Chirag Rege introduced the speakers. Our first speaker of the day was Mumbai spokesperson of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, Dr. Uday Dhuri.

Dr. Dhuri spoke on the importance of Guru and the need of Hindu nation. He explained that a Guru, or a teacher is there to selflessly lead his disciples. Prosperity of his disciples and overall progress of mankind, is his sole goal. Guru Poornima is the day when we express our gratitude to such a Guru. Further, he provided us with examples of great leaders and how their Gurus helped them. He concluded with the following quote:

संहता हि महाबलाः । म्हणजे संघटित रहाणारे लोक अत्यंत बलाढ्य होतात, असे महाभारतात सांगितले आहे. सङ्घे शक्तिः कलौयुगे । म्हणजे कलियुगात संघटितपणात शक्ती असते असेही शास्त्र सांगते.

Next session of the program was led by Prasanna Baokar and Mrs Asha Nadkarni. They read out Guru stotra and explained each verse in the stotra. Guru Stotra is a verse in praise of the Guru and explains how important a Guru is and why should a Guru be respected .

Together, we then recited Guru Mahima stuti:

स्वामीराया कृपा करा, आम्हा सकला उद्धारा || धृ ||

‘मी’ याची मज जाणिव हो, दुर्वसनांचे निर्मुल हो || १ ||

राबतसे या संसारा, गुरुराया मज द्द्या थारा || २ ||

कृपासिंधु तुज नाम गुरु, भवसागरी या कल्पतरू || ३ ||

पावन करी या दीनाला, जीव घाबरा अती झाला || ४ ||

या नरदेही सांभाळा, भिणार नाही कालीकाळा || ५ ||

कालीकाळाला धाक तुझा, कैवारी गुरु हो माझा || ६ ||

रामकृष्ण पुजी गुरु घोर, दास चरणी मज ना थोर || ७ ||

Our program concluded with 'Thank you' note by Namrata Wagle, followed by aarti of Shree Shantadurga.

Mumbai Guru Poornima at Sitladevi temple, Mahim

 Pune Progam

Pune program was organized by Nivedita Page-Mulki, Nehal Mulki, Anushree and Vaibhav Nadkarni.
ज्ञानमूलं गुरुमूर्ती, पूजामूलं गुरुपादं

मंत्रमूलं गुरुव्याख्या, मोक्षमूलं गुरुकृपा |

This was the beginning of our meet on the 13^th july in Pune. About 20 of friends met in person and 3 more joined virtually over Skype, with the common intent of knowing and understanding the importance of Guru and getting to know the age old Guru-shishya parampara which has formed the basis of our wealthy culture.

The guest speaker on this occasion was Miss Reshma Kulkarni, who is a volunteer of Dhyan Foundation and has an in depth knowledge of the said topic. She practices meditation regularly for the past 12 years and conducts various workshops, seminars and lectures on the practice of Yog as a way of life. She conducted an excellent session which included mythological stories stating the importance of a guru, the guru shishya parampara which is also the basis of yog, yog as a way of life, the spiritual aspect, followed by a short meditation session. It was in simple language with appropriate real life situations so that all of us could relate to this relatively heavy topic. Everyone was very enthusiastic about the event and the response was overwhelming.

The take home message that everyone received was that Guru is someone who will guide you and take you through safely in your journey. Also, in order to be on this path which may seem spiritual or philosophical, it is not necessary to let go of all your worldly desires and household duties. It is possible to be on this glorious path the way you are, with whatever background you have, wherever you are. A special focus was laid down on charity in whatever form possible.

The talk lasted for 1 hour 15 minutes, followed by a short session of meditation just to provide the audience a glimpse of this beautiful technique. After this, we had a short interactive session wherein our audience quizzed Reshma about the various doubts they had. Also a few of them shared their experiences and opinions.

Thus it was a wholesome event, both knowledgeable and enjoyable. Each of us went home with a new perspective about the guru, yog and life as a whole. 

Pune team after Guru Poornima function

This event would be published in Saraswat Mitra very soon.

Saraswat Mitra

Saraswat Mitra is a popular monthly magazine which publish in Marathi and English. It was started in year 2009 from Ratnagiri. It reaches more than 5000 readers in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Belgaum, Goa and Gujarat every month. 

Purpose of Saraswat Mitra magazine is to connect Saraswat community people across the country. This magazine provides variety of content like articles on health, traditions, parenting, women health, career, great personalities in community, saraswat deities, news related to saraswats, stories for childrens etc. It also publish information related to saraswat brides and grooms free of cost. 

Saraswat Mitra is run by group of young people. There is a need to support this magazine. You can support this magazine in various ways like, you can become subscriber, you can ask people to subscribe this magazine, you can write for it, you can send the news related to community activity etc. 

Please visit saraswatmitra.blogspot.com

Visitwww.facebook.com/SaraswatMitra

Email: saraswatmitra@gmail.com

Call 02352-226111.

Pumbai - Finally!!!

The much awaited Maha GSB event of the year was finally here. This event was announced a month back and within two weeks, we were looking forward to the event as though we have been waiting for this event since ages. It wasn't that we knew each other since ages, much rather, most of us were meeting each other for the first time. We were connected over whatsapp in the recent few days and all that we knew about each other were our phone numbers and to some extent our display pics. 

Being connected on whatsapp had built-up the enthusiasm to an extent that the topic of conversation on the group over the last few days before the meet was majorly on how early can we meet and the acitivities that we do. We had 3 cars from Mumbai and 3 from Pune converging at Vadkhal naka, on way to Alibag. It was a nice specatacle of 6 cars following each other thru the lanes of Alibag and Varsoli. Most of us were not known to each other till we reached the resort and it did not matter, cause the moment all cars were parked, we were helping each other with unloading the cars and settling in the resort.

The resort was just a namesake...we made it our second home as we settled in. After freshening up, it was time to hit the beach. And the beach we truly enjoyed to the core, from playing cricket to volleyball to water sports. Amidst all these, the kiddos (Ira, Shivam and Aditya) were busy splashing in the water, thoroughly enjoying their heart out. Even with a varied age group, there was not a soul who was idle or left out.

Fun and food are two words that are a inherent part of all our get-togethers. From chai and wada pav on the beach to an awesome chicken dum biryani for dinner at the resort, jawla-pav and omlette for breafast and then a full-spread lunch at Fulora (Alibag), we relished food all thru the meet. Fun factor was always on...from the moment we started our journey to Varsoli till we left the resort, then some more at Alibag while having lunch and the lingering moments at Pen when we had say good-bye, much against our wishes. We spent an hour clicking photos, not because we were photo-crazy, but we wanted those moments to last as long as possible. They will, in our memories, till we meet again.

This event was significant in many ways. Firstly, this event introduced the Pune team to the Mumbai team and was the grandest ever with close to 30 friends meeting. Most meeting first time, and yet within 24 hours being so close as though the friendship was ages old. Secondly, in a diverse age group, no one felt left out. Even the toddlers Ira and Shivam enjoyed to the fullest. Thirdly, whatsapp was relived that weekend. We were so busy enjoying and connecting offline, that except for sharing a few pics with those who missed the meet, there wasn't much happening online. A group that boasts of nearly 1000 messages a day was dry at less than 20 messages. Lastly and most importantly, there was no one at the helm. We did have an organizing team - Sanket (resort booking), Vaibhav (co-ordinating the Pune team and finalizing resort), Sanyukta (getting all information needed) and the rest contributed in their own way. It was a team event and everyone contributed in their own way to ensure that it was successful.

If you enjoyed reading the blog, do comment your thoughts. Do you wish to just read the blog, or be a part of the events as well? If you are interested and want to know more, do get in touch with us. You can email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (+91-9820992403).

Maha Panchami with Maha GSB

Continuing from our last meet at Ambernath, we move to another heritage location this meet. Ambernath is towards the outskirts of Mumbai, now we come to the tip of South Mumbai into a GSB territory. Very few know that the heritage location of Banganga belongs to the GSB Temple trust. At this location, we have brances of two GSB maths. One of them is of Shree Saunsthan Goudapadacharya Kavle Math. This math houses temple of Shree Shantadurga. Many festivals are celebrated here. These include all Maha Panchamis.

May 4 was Vaishakh Shudh Panchami, considered to be one of the 5 Maha Panchamis. On this day, Navachandi Anushthan is performed in the morning. We had been there to be a part of the celebrations. Visiting maths and temples, has traditionally been a strictly religious matter so far. But with the whole gang meeting up, it has added a level of enjoyment. It has built-up the motivation to not just visit math, but to collectively participate and volunteer in the activites around.

The last time we had participated similarly was on Tripuri Poornima (Nov 2013), when we had lit up the whole math with panatees (diyas). While this time, we did not have the chance to do so much of a seva, but we enjoyed helping out the little bit that we could in laying out the seating for lunch and serving food. We also spent some time going around Banganga and applying the knowledge learnt from the last meet. Even in the heat and humidity, we had a great time chilling out together.

We have a "chilling out" plan coming soon where we are going on an outing. The dates are June 7-8. Teams from Pune and Mumbai are coming together after a long time (last time we met was in 2009 at Khandala). Those who were there know what a blast it was. Those who weren't can join now. The rest can keep reading. If you  are not the one who just keeps reading, then hop on. Email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (9820992403). You can also join us on facebook to get regular updates of our events.

Visiting the past and planning the future

Our get-togethers have always been similar in nature and unique in content. We have gradually been developing the content of the meet from planning events, to trekking. Going further, we are looking at adding knowledge sharing in our get-togethers. Our latest Mumbai get-together at Ambernath Shivalay was a start to this series of infotainment get-togethers. Ambernath Shivalay is a Shiva temple with intricate stone carvings and attracts not just locals, but art historians across the globe.

The temple is considered is an 11th century marvel and considered as the oldest existing temple of the Bhumija style of architecture. Most of us did not even know temple architecture had styles and that there was much deeper thought that just the wonderful carvings. Sensing this, our guide for the day, Chirag Rege, started with the very basic question of when and how the temple building started. He further went on to explain the broad classification of temple architecture styles.

Bhumija Shikhar is a northern style of architecture, prominently seen in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. In this architecture, the Shikhar has four spines decorated with meshes. Quadrants between these spines are filled with miniature shrine model. He further explained on the components of a temple and we started realizing how thoughtfully the temples were created from those times. Along with the explanation, we explored more basics of a temple and knowing how to identify sculptures. Fitting all that information in a blog would be quite difficult and moreover would not justify the actual experience that we had of exploring the historical monument.

One of the inherent inclusions of our meets is "food". This meet too, started off with pet-pooja but quite surprisingly, we missed lunch and did not even realize it till we were on our way back. This fact can help you gauge how interesting the session would have been. Moreover the learning is something that we would carry further when visiting other temples as well. Some of you reading this blog would already be regretting missing this opportunity. We do not know when we can present this same opportunity again, but ensure that you do not miss any further action.

Whilst the Mumbai team was visiting the past, the Pune team was building plans for the future. We need energy for planning; hence the venue had to be a restaurant. We met at Good Luck restaurant, Deccan at 10:00 am on the same day. Being a Sunday, the place was over-crowded as usual. After spending some time in the waiting, we finally had a seat. What we ate is not quite important in the current context, but what we have planned is. We have planned for a "Maha meet" where team from Mumbai and Pune would come together to have a grand get-together. We have nearly closed on the venue and are working on the finer aspects of the plans. We are sure that you are quite eager to know more details on this. So here are some clues: The date would be a weekend of June and the venue would be between Mumbai and Pune but not Lonavala or Khandala. Any guesses?

Mumbai or Pune, at either place, we had a great time this Sunday. Unless, you are just happy reading blogs, we have a venue for you to have an amazing experience. So join in and have something to share. To know more and to participate, email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (9820992403). You can also join us on facebook to get regular updates of our events.

MH-12 Once again

There have been quite some questions in the recent about Maha GSB having meets only in Mumbai. Considering that most of these questions were from Pune, we decided to have our 6th Pune meet on Sunday, March 23. Most of the hotels in Pune are over-crowded on Sunday mornings and hence it is unadvisable for a group like us to have a leisurely meet. With the chaos that we create (irrespective of the number), it is preferred that we meet at a not-so-crowded location. Jangli Maharaj mandir on JM road, is the type that suits us. Within the city, very accessible and easily known landmark, it still is uncrowded and leisurely. 

In the same premises, is another isolated place, known as the Pataleshwar caves. Patal (underground) eshwar (Shiva) caves are now under the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) and are relatively well maintained (more importantly clean). The caves have been dug-out of a single rock. There is a huge Nandi Mandap at the entrance and a Shiva temple inside. The caves are incomplete due to some technical flaw identified during construction. Staying in Pune, very few people know of the existence of these caves.

Our meets are incomplete without food and it anyways was around lunch time. After some discussions wandering around the better eating houses in Pune, we finalized on the nearest restaurant, Bamboo house. Few of us had met before, but for most of us the group was new, most friends were new. That did not matter though, for in no time, we were bonded as childhood friends meeting after a long time. Somewhere in our chats and gupshups, we had bridged all gaps between meeting strangers to being close friends.

Our Pune meet was end post lunch, but we were in no mood to curtail the meet here. So we continue to Atulya's residence and made ourselves at home. Had all of us been from Pune, the meet could have continued onto the India-West Indies match and beyond. All good things come to an end. Well, this was just the beginning. This is the first meet of the series, the next being on Apr 20 and the series continues.

If you were there with us on Sunday, you have experienced more than what this blog says. If you weren't and you are just happy reading the blog, try joining in next time. It would be an experience you would love to have over and over again. If you are in a region where we are not active, let us know and we will building up a group with you.So do let us know your thoughts. Please email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (9820992403).

Ajjis ajoobas and a wonderful weekend

Today, the name Shantikunj, itself now leads to wonderful memories. It was not so on Saturday morning. This visit was the first time for most of the team and before we reached, there were jitters about spending a day with seniors who are more than two generations elder. The big question of the moment then was "How do you connect to someone so senior, especially where there is hardly thing in common?" And yet we were there to spend the day with them.

To break the initial apprehensions, we had planned to have a bhajan session. It did not take too long to overcome the initial hesitations. As we invited them to the mandir for bhajans, we accompanied them on the way and in no time (even before starting with the bhajans), we were well mixed with the them. Shailaja Pai and her daughter took on the lead for the bhajans and the rest joined in. Everyone was so involved that by the time we realized, it was already lunch time and we were reluctant to stop. We had to hard stop as lunch was to be served at 1:00 PM.

The start was so positive that from then on, we never felt like visitors nor were the residents feeling that we were any outsiders. It was just one extended family with everyone enjoying with each other. While some played carrom, some worked on the candy stick stands (we had planned to gift them) the rest picked up their regular nap. We were all waiting for the evening and the entertainment show that was planned for. It included a skit that was written just 2 days prior and being rehearsed in that afternoon. The residents were excited and we were nervous.

The evening proved to be much better than our dreams. Dr. Dilip Nadkarni had come down for a 20-minute performance and in those 20 mins, he sang, danced and set-up the tone for the evening. Starting with "Kehna hai...", Dr. Dilip raked up melodious tracks from the Golden Era...their younger days. He built up the energy with jokes and boosted the already positive environment. It was wonderful to see one of the ajji's shake a leg. Eventually, even we could not resist and joined in to dance. He was accompanied by deititian Darshana Lathigra, who provided easy tips to maintain health. This continued with a magic show by Jadugar Sunil Kamat. He built-up on the stage that was now set for a rocking evening and ensure that fun element kept going. To pep the mood, we served chatpata sev puris. They were just the snacks needed to to keep up the energy for the evening. Our satisfaction was in the fact that all our ajjis and ajoobas enjoyed the sev-puris. The satisfaction was doubled when Dr Dilip and dietitian Darshana gave us a 5-star rating.

The mood was now that the evening should not end. We added to the evening with a short skit (praticised in the afternoon) and a last minute dance. Our energy bomb, Sowmya was the spirit booster. She is 11 years old but more energetic than most of us. While she only performed a mono act, she was all over the show, be it dancing or motivating the audience or just being super excited.

If you are wondering where did all of us get so much energy, it was thanks to the food that we have had. A visit to Shantikunj cannot be complete without the mention of food served and Hegde maam who prepares the delicacies with his family. He is the caretaker and has been serving there tirelessly. The food is so delicious that even with a full stomach, we are tempted to have yet another morsel. For Hegde maam, it was our satisfaction that mattered. Seeing a content face, his face sparkles joy.

Next day morning, as we were arranging the candy stands (which we had managed to prepare over night), one of the ajji's appreciated the art and checked with us on when those were made, and what would you do with them...much like my own grandmother would ask me. When told that these were for all of them and we would be meeting each of them in their room to give these, there was a gleam in her eyes. She did not say much then, but for a moment, my eyes went moist. Without a word being uttered, there was a lot communicated. She mentioned that another group had come a few years back and gifted them mementos which she has preserved till date. My heart was filled...she did not remember the group, but she still carries the memories. Later in the day, as we gifted them the mementos in their rooms, they were truly overjoyed. The mementos were a gift of memories that they had given us and would stay with them for a long time. When we were to leave, it really was a tough task saying good-bye. As Sanket puts it "We came with lots of questions, started with a smile and ended up with tears".

So how many are needed to organize such an event? How much does it cost? We were 14 and we funded the whole event including mementos and sev puri. All that was needed ws to join the gang, the group of some crazy GSBs known as the Maha GSB. Then every GSB becomes a friend and every event is a memory to live with.

Waiting to meet your friends? Join us now. For details on how, please email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (+91-9820992403). You can also join us on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/mahagsb/) as well.

Celebration of light and colors

Tripuri purnima or Kartik purnima, is one of the beautiful festivals. And when you have a "gang of friends" like the ones we are, you can bet on creating a specatcular visual that will last memories for long times. It was precisely the same thing that happened at Kavle math, Walekeshwar on this Tripuri Purnima on Sunday, Nov 17.
 

We started the afternoon with making rangoli making and prepating waati. Intially we had a colorful mess and cotton strands. Then things started rolling and everyone starting contributing in their own way. Rangoli making is not an easy task but the girls were enjoying it to the core. Not to be left behind, the rest of the "gang" moved around, setting up the pantees (diyas) for the evening show.

As the evening pulled on, the stage was set-up. The rangoli was looking a masterpiece...thanks to Prajakta, Priyadarshana, Sanyukta, Tanuja and Priti. Palki was ready for the procession and we were all super excited.

On Tripuri Purnima, Shree Shantadurga palkhi procession starts from Kavle math and goes around the magnificient Banganga lake visting the Walkeshwar temple and Kashi math. During the procession, the palkhi stops whenever residents in the area offer aarti to the palkhi. It is a blissful feeling going around with the palkhi and seeing the participation from residents in the area. Palkhis from Kashi math and Walkeshwar temple also make a visit to Kavle math. When we were back from the procession, we had aarti. During this time, all the electric lights were swtiched off and the temple illuminated to the light of the pantees. The temple looked so beautiful that the entire "gang" had the feeling of efforts being rewarded.

Reward was also waiting for us in the form of maha prasad. A yummy dinner with pulav and topped with kheer for desert was much the appreciation that we needed...and we gladly accepted it. If you have noted, throughtout the blog, the entire team has been referenced as "gang". If you are wondering why, the reasons are pretty simple. A gang can barge into anything and make it their own. We have been doing that since long, the recent one being Kavle Math. We all came to Kavle math, made ourselves at home and decorated is as we would decorate our own premises. And because we do it the way we do it, saying good-bye is always the hard task. Time and again, it has always been that we have reached home much later than planned. Those who have been there, will second it.

 

Celebrating festivals and Maha GSB events have always been fun. There is always something you can give and there is always a lot to take. We put in our efforts and received some wonderful memories. If you haven't had these memories so far, now is the time. Join us at the next meet. For details on how, please email us at mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (+91-9820992403). You can also join us on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/mahagsb/) as well.

Katta friends and discussions

For some reasons, this group never has new members. It's just old friends whom we haven't met. That is the flavour of the group. When we had first met at Udyan Ganesh in May 2006, we were so unknown that a couple of us were sitting besides each other not knowing that we had come together for the same meet. What happened on this meet was on similar lines, Prashant and Sagar were at Udyan Ganesh. Both sitting at either end of the mandir, watching the cricket match while waiting for others to join in. Neither of them aware that they both were friends.

That is how it happens here. We meet and find friends whom we have never met before. The very obvious question is: Aren't they strangers before you meet? With strangers, you need a formal introduction and then some time to know the person before you can gel with him/her and be a friend. Unlike other groups, we never have had a formal "Round-of-Introduction". We start with "Hi" and "Hellos" and go on to talks and discussions as we would be our "katta friends".

Our talks are of personal experiences and fun moments, while discussions are about future plans for the group. Our group has been evolving with time, from members to content. With this change, we have now added knowledge sharing about GSB culture (without getting too religious about it) as a part of our event. The upcoming event would emphasize a lot on this new content addition. The event is schedule on Tripuri Purnmia. On the knowledge sharing, we would get to know about the significance of this Purnima. On this occassion, there is Deepotsav at Kavle Math, Walkeshwar. Together as a group, we get to enjoy decorating the math with lights. And then there is Palkhi procession around Banganga lake. To add to this, His Holiness Shrimat Shivananda Saraswarti Swami has agreed to spend some time with us. For more details, check the event on facebook.

Further, we also put the Shantikunj Sevashram plans to discussion. Shantikunj is the GSB Oldage home run by the Wadala Math trust. We talked about what we have done there so far during our visits. While we are yet to work out the detailed plans, we are looking for inputs to build the plan. Please do share your thoughts with us here.

Have you met your friends? While there is always a next time, we missed you this time. For the next time, ensure that "This is the time!" For details on how, please email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (+91-9820992403). You can also join us on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/mahagsb/) as well.

Pooja and Petpooja

Rajmachi was not an easy trek. While we completed it successfully, we had our share of obstacles; not major but a few hiccups. Lord Ganesha is considered to be the vignaharta or the vanquisher of obstacles. Hence we thought it would be apt to thank Him for helping us successfully overcome all obstacles in our trek. Siddhivinayak is the most renowned temple, situated at centrally located Dadar. Sunday would have been an ideal day, however Sunday being Sankashti, the temple would be over crowded, giving us barely any time with the Lord. With these thoughts, we zeroed in on Saturday as the day for our visit.

As expected, the temple was far less crowded and we had a good darshan of Shree Siddhivinayak. We has planned to meet at the Siddhivinayak temple on Saturday morning at 10:00 AM. Askhay and Prasanna were the first to arrive and the rest tricked in gradually. Chatting and chaos are synonymus with us. As we all gathered, we started chatting and talking about things that happened over the days since Rajmachi and during the Ganeshotsav. Not that we need an occassion or topic to talk on, but then when we have some, we do not miss out. Chaos ensued after that on what do we take as prasad, from where, and a few other topics. Eventually, all was sorted and we moved in. There wasn't much queue and it was a quick way to darshan. Traditionally, we sit in the temple for two minutes after the darshan, before moving out. We took this chance to distribute the prasad. By the time we had darshan and were out of the temple, it was noon and Pranav dropped in.

All our plans include food and today was no exception. As it was Saturday, a few had opted for to be vegetarians for the day. We (slowly) moved out of the temple to plan for our next destination, the hotel for lunch. Abhijit had a some plans, so had to move on and wasn't able to join us for lunch. In that period, Siddhesh joined in, so the count stood. Searching a veg hotel for lunch was not a difficult task and we ended up with Gypsy for some authentic Maharashtrian veg food. Some of the converted vegetarians had a change of mind looking at bharli wangi and waran bhath. So the venue and minds changed. We landed up at Gomantak for a full fledged konkan cuisine. That food suits our palate the best. Unfortunately, the veg food at such places is not very highly recommended and the pure vegetarians had to suffer, while the rest gorged (that usually happens).

We had a few plans post lunch, but the lunch being heavy, it took us some time to move out and reach Shivaji Park. At 3:00 PM, it's not difficult to find a space in Shivaji Park, that is if you don't mind sweating in the sun. We managed to find a shade and rested ourselves. The plans were not much of tasking (thankfully), still were interesting. The first of those was announcement of our next plans. We plan to visit Shantikunj at Panvel on Nov 16-17. To discuss the details of this visit, we would be meeting on Oct 20 at Shivaji Park at 4:00 PM. The next was even interesting. We are planning to launch a book on our Rajmachi experience, thanks to Gauri. The first chapter of the book was shared with all those who were present and everyone is now awaiting to read the whole book. The book is set to release in November. And if this was not all, we also announced the plans of a movie. No, not movie watching, but creating a movie. The movie would be created by the entire Maha GSB team, from scripting, to directing, to acting and even editing. A very rough outline on what the movie would be, was shared by Tanuja, our scriptwriter. So await the blockbuster coming your way.

With all this in one day, after a heavy, showed the level of energy that the team has. It was about 4:00 PM by then and time to move back to our own tracks. Sadly, we were not able to cover the very special debate on our agenda. JD, who had specially come for that was a bit disheartened. But we promise to come back on that in our next coffee session at Shivaji Park on Oct 20.

Fun, food and frolic happen with friends. You get the friends here. Feeling as a stranger? Try out the excitement, join us now. For details on how, please email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (+91-9820992403). You can also join us on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/mahagsb/) as well.

Cloud 18

We 18 were in the clouds when the rest were way below. It was a sense of achievement, challenging our own limits and testing ourselves to the core, we had overcome everything. Hence were in Cloud 18. There is a myth that trekking needs good physique, stamina and a lot more. We proved it wrong. What is needed is perseverance, attitude and a rocking gang.

 

It all started over a coffee meet when we thought of doing something different. Trek was then, just a suggestion and it gradually shaped to Rajmachi. All experienced trekkers suggested this was not a first timers trek, but then we always stick to our commitment. As planned, we all met at CST for the Chennai Mail. (Yes, we preferred Chennai Mail to Chennai Express). At 2:14, when we got off at Lonavala, the entire General compartment would have heaved a sigh of relief. But then we can't control our energy and enthusiasm.

Before we proceed to the trek, a quick word that most of us met for the first time at CST. That did not matter much, as in this group, anyone who joins, just merges in. This attitude makes everyone comfortable...so much that we spent 2 hours at Lonavala depot as if we were all in our backyard chatting with friends. We will come back to this comfort making attitude again at a later stage. We began our trek at 5:00 am, walking thru the dark in the drizzling rains. Rains have something common with us, they love us so much that thru the entire route they stayed with us, pouring their love all the way. While that made the journey well drenched and drained energy in shivering and trudging with heavily soaked shoes, it also gave us some explicit views of nature and overflowing waterfalls.

As we moved on enjoying the nature, we enjoyed at every spot. Crossing streams, getting drenched at every waterfalls even when it was raining heavily and yet enjoying that. And with all this, we all never missed out on our own safety and safety of our colleagues. It generally is a very rare combination that you see uncontrolled masti going along hand-in-hand with a sense of responsibility. For that matter, the group was quite a diverse in age with difference varying to 15 years. When it was fun time, everyone made joked around as kids of the same age and when it came to guidance, everyone took on matured responsibility. Seniors helped, juniors supported...overall a cohesive act of unity. 

Eventually, we reached Rajmachi at 2:00 PM after some maggis, a few cups of tea, some chips, a dabba of yummy dhoklas and corn. The journey to Rajmachi had drained us physically, more as we were not used to such exertion. Oh well, we were just physically drained, mentally we were still quite fresh. The place where were to put up for the night was a nice village house at Udhewadi, the village at Rajmachi. Quite spacious, natural light passing thru the roof and good ventilation even when there weren't any windows open. It is a good point to wonder when we had such good eco-friendly technology sine primitive ages, where did we loose it? While we were freshening up on these thoughts, we had a call for lunch...and that was all we needed. A perfect lunch with bhakri, chole, batata and dal-rice with thecha gave a good reason to cancel the afternoon plans of trekking further to Shriwardhan gad. While some preferred to catch up a nap, the rest were busy with "Fuzzy duck" (more details when we meet) and capturing expressions (again something better not explained here). We spent the rest of the day at our Rajmachi home. We had made ourselves so comfortable with the family there that even they believed that we were a part of their family and no guests. This emphasizes the point on our attitude on making everyone comfortable with us. Next day, was a lazy Sunday. After an extended Saturday, we woke-up later than expected and had to skip the first part of trek to Manaranjan gad. We did a quick visit to the nearby Udaysagar lake and Godhaneshwar temple. The quick visit lasted two hours and spending energy there (except for some lovely dhoklas, carry-forwarded from Saturday), we were quite hungry and headed straight to the breakfast location. The breakfast of us 18 included 12 plates poha, 16 plates missal, 6 omelettes and 18 cups of tea. Done with all this and we were good to leave. Our stay at the beautiful home was done for this visit...and as we moved, we clicked this last pic for good memories (the home owners are a part of this pic, try identifying them)

We had trekked 21 kms in pouring rain the previous day and we were told that the return journey from Rajmachi to Karjat is not even half of that and complete downhill. With all that we had experience the previous day, the return journey would be a piece of cake. Rather we thought so. The normal start time is during the first half of the day and we were already at 3:00 PM when we begun. The start was good till we reached a spot where we could see what lies ahead. Surely a few of us had lump in the throat while the others easily skipped a few beats. In such scenarios, most mouths go shut (and some pants go wet), but we were different. We started joking, singing and enjoying so much that could put the serious trekkers to wonder whether the route was really a tasking one. As most of us were first timers, we were a tad slow at pace. By the time we reach Kondana caves, the sun had set and darkness was gradually taking over. At this point in time, as were just about confident that we are on the right track, we missed a turn and realized that we were on the wrong path about 30 mins later. Surprisingly and thankfully, at that point in time, no one panicked. We met a 3 other guys from a different group who had missed on the same route. Taking their advice, we walked back to Kondana caved and took the correct route to reach Kondivade, the base village and from there to Karjat station.

Through the adventure (and a bit of misadventure), every moment was a lifetime memory. We carried home some mud, some pain, some aches and sore foots...all those would fade away, and what would remain are the memories. And that is all that mattered. We have tried to share some bit of our experience, however the memories that we have are our forever. All those who have been for the trek vouch to one word that would have to say had they missed out this event "Regret" and one word for being at the trek "Cloud 18".

 

As they say, those who have missed don't know what they have missed. Don't want to be one's who miss? Join us now. For details on how, please email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (+91-9820992403). You can also join us on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/mahagsb/) as well.